FIFA World Cup Golden Boot winners over the years | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis Sport FIFA World Cup Golden Boot winners over the years <p> <em>DNA takes a look at the footballers who&#39;ve won the FIFA Golden Ball award for the most goals at a World Cup.</em></p> <p> <strong>Paolo Rossi (1982 Spain World Cup)</strong><br /> The Italian striker Paolo Rossi, born on September 23rd, 1956, in Santa Lucia debuted at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, it was his second World Cup appearance in Spain 1982 where scored six goals; three of which were a hat-trick against Brazil in the quarter-finals.</p> <p> Rossi shot two goals in Italy&#39;s 2-0 victory against Poland in the semi-final and scored another against West Germany in the final, which Italy won 3-1.

Rossi won the Golden shoe as well as the Golden Ball and was on the World Cup winning team, something only the Argentine Mario Kempes achieved in 1978.</p> <p> <strong>Gary Lineker (1986 Mexico World Cup)</strong><br /> Gary Winston Lineker was born in Leicester on 30th November, 1960.</p> <p> The footballer turned media personality&#39;s international career began in a match with England against Scotland in 1984.</p> <p> Lineker&#39;s golden boot at the World Cup of 1986 was the result of six stunning goals. He also played in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, where England reached the semi-finals, and played his last international game against Sweden at Euro 92.</p> <p> Lineker fell short of Bobby Charlton&#39;s 49 international goal-scoring tally by one goal, scoring 48 goals in 80 caps.

</p> <p> In the course of his career, Linekar has never received a booking, yellow or red, for committing a violation.</p> <p> <strong>Salvatore Schillaci (1990</strong> <strong>Italy World Cup)</strong><br /> Salvatore Schillaci was born on 1st December, 1964, in Palermo, Sicily, from a poor family. Nicknamed Tot&ograve;, He would eventually play for an amateur team, Amat Palermo, in his home town.<br /> <br /> Schillachi, who debuted in the World Cup of 1990 as a substitute emerged from relative obscurity after scoring six goals. The first of which was when Italy was pitted against Austria when he was called on to replace Andrea Carnevale.</p> <p> Schillachi then went on to score against the USA, Czechoslovakia, and Argentina to whom Italy lost though.

Schillaci scored a penalty and Italy defeated England to get third place.</p> <p> Salvatore Schillaci retired from professional football in 1999 with only seven international goals in sixteen caps, scoring just one more goal after the 1990 World Cup.</p> <p> <strong>Oleg Salenko (1994 US World Cup)</strong><br /> Oleg Salenko, born in Leningrad in the former USSR in 1969, started his football career in 1986.<br /> <br /> Salenko, though, successful in the 1994 world cup where he scored five goals against Cameroon, couldn&#39;t keep Russia buoyed and the team didn&#39;t get past the first round.<br /> <br /> Oleg Salenko amazingly still went on to share the coveted Golden Boot Award for scoring six goals in the tournament.</p> <p> Oleg Solenko went on to score only one more goal for his country and he retired as a football player after merely nine international matches for medical reasons.</p> <p> <strong>Davor Suker (1998 France World Cup)</strong><br /> Davor

 Suker, Croatia&#39;s greatest scorer with 45 goals (plus one international goal in Euro 1991 for the former State of Yugoslavia,following his international debut in Romania in 1990) was born on January 1st, 1968, in Osijek, a then-Yugoslavian town.</p> <p> Suker won the Golden Boot by scoring 6 goals in 7 matches and also won the Silver Ball 1998 at France as second best player of tournament (behind Ronaldo).</p> <p> Suker&#39;s zenith was at the 1998 World Cup (France) where he scored six goals that brought Croatia to third place for the first time since the nation became independent in 1992.</p> <p> After stints with Arsenal,West Ham United and1860 Munich in Germany, Suker retired from football to run his private entrepreneurships, the training academy- The Davor Suker Football Academy and a brewery that manufactures &#39;Suker&#39; -his own brand of liquor.</p> <p> <strong>Ronaldo (2002 South

 Korea &amp; Japan World Cup)</strong><br /> Ronaldo, born Ronaldo Lu&iacute;z Naz&aacute;rio de Lima into the poor neighbourhood of Bento Ribeiro, Rio de Janeiro, in 1976, was discovered at age 14 to become the record holder of the maximum number of goals shot at the World Cup.

Nicknamed &#39;O Fenomeno&#39; (The Phenomenon), the Brazilian striker&#39;s international debut against Argentina in 1994.</p> <p> Ronaldo scored 8 goals at the 2002 World Cup, twice the amount he scored the World Cup before, two of which led to Brazil&#39;s ultimate victory over Germany in the finals as well as the equalization of Pele&#39;s world cup record of 12 goals at the World Cup.</p> <p> In 2006, Ronaldo scored another 3 goals which made him second to Jurgen Klinsmann to score at least 3 goals in 3 world cups besides having the record for the maximum number of goals per tournament.</p> <p> Ronaldo, in addition to winning the golden boot in 2002,won FIFA&#39;s Player of the Year Award in 1996, in 1997 and 2002 as well.</p> <p> <strong>Miroslav Klose (2006 Germany World Cup)</strong><br /> The 32 year-old German striker,born on 

9 June 1978 in Opole, Poland had scored five goals (all headers) in 2002, his first World Cup debut.</p> <p> In the 2006 World Cup, Germany first took on Costa Rica and Klose(it being his 28th birthday, incidentally) scored two goals, contributing to Germany&#39;s 4-2 win.</p> <p> After Klose and Lukas Podolski played against the country of their birth, in Germany&#39;s second match, Klose proceeded to score another two goals against Ecuador.</p> <p> Klose proved valuable in assisting Podolski in Germany&#39;s 2-0 win over Sweden in the first knockout round.</p> <p> In the quarter-finals, Klose took charge of a potentially situation by equalizing Germany with Argentina on 30 June 2006, with the German team ultimately winning 4-2 on penalties.<br /> <br /> Klose is now on par with fellow German Gerd Meller in terms of gpals scored in a World Cup- 14, after his four goals in the 2010 World Cup in

 South Africa, and is two away from exceeding the Brazilian Ronaldo&#39;s record score.</p> <p> <strong>Thomas Mueller (2010 South Africa World Cup)<br /> </strong></p> <p> Thomas Mueller born on 13th September, 1989 burst onto the international footballing scene with impressive performances at the 2010 World Cup.</p> <p> The 20-year-old scored 5 goals in South Africa to tie for top goalscorer alongside David Villa (Spain), Wesley Sneijder (the Netherlands) and Diego Forlan (Uruguay).

However, Mueller&#39;s three assists meant that he picked up the Golden Boot award.</p> <p> The German midfielder also picked up FIFA&#39;s best young player of the tournament award.</p> FIFA World Cup Golden Boot winners over the years Date published: Thursday, 15 July 2010 - 3:10pm | The Golden Boot Battle: Ranking Every World Cup Top Scorer | Bleacher Report The Golden Boot Battle: Ranking Every World Cup Top Scorer By Tom Sunderland , Featured Columnist Jun 18, 2014 Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse the slideshow Michael Sohn/Associated Press 26 Comments The World Cup's Golden Boot award is arguably the most cherished scoring award that any player can covet in football, an honour bestowed upon those who have thrived in front of goal on the biggest stage of all. Also called the "Golden Shoe," the award is given to the top scorer of each World Cup, and some of the most legendary names in the sport have been etched onto its precious metal.

Up until 1998, FIFA allowed numerous winners to be named if they finished with an identical goal tally, since which assists and fewest minutes played have become deciding factors in the case of a tie. Winning the Golden Boot doesn't necessarily equate to tournament success, as we'll debate ahead, but firing one's team further in the competition certainly helps in these rankings of the finest World Cup top scorers ever. Down the years, goals have become fewer in number as more and more national teams play defensively, but quantity and quality of the goals scored also factor into our countdown of these Golden Boot victors. Winners: Oleg Salenko (Russia) and Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria) Goals: 6 Oleg Salenko is the only player ever to win a World Cup Golden Boot award playing for a team which was eliminated at the group stage. What makes the feat even more remarkable is that these six goals would be the only international goals of the Russian's career. Salenko tied with Hristo Stoichkov in the scoring charts, with the latter's finishing boasting a bigger impact on the road to Bulgaria taking fourth place in 1994.

This would be the last World Cup in which there could be multiple Golden Boot winners, after which the rules were changed so that assists and the amounts of minutes played would help determine outright champions. Salenko scored five of his six goals in a single group game against Cameroon, whereas Stoichkov shared his bounty against Greece and Argentina in the group stage before bagging against Mexico, Germany and Italy later on. Tweet Goals: 8 After the 12-year break from competition caused by World War II, the World Cup's Golden Boot picked up where it had left off in 1938: It was awarded to a Brazilian. This time it was Ademir who took home the spoils, ramming home on eight occasions, although there was some controversy over the legitimacy of one of his goals during the 6-1 win over Spain in the final round. Playing a World Cup on home soil, the ex-Vasco da Gama striker failed to score in three of Brazil's six games as they finished runners-up to Uruguay, who won the competition for the second time.

Alongside Zizinho and Jair, Ademir was the central focus of a mighty Selecao front three at this World Cup, but his Golden Boot may never have come were it not for a four-goal haul in the 7-1 mauling of Sweden. 17. Germany 2006: Miroslav Klose, Germany Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Goals: 5 At 36 years of age, Miroslav Klose hasn't got a lot of time left to break Ronaldo's 15-goal World Cup haul, as he currently sits on 14 and in need of a couple more before he can take the all-time scoring crown. However, the humble Lazio forward will look upon his 2006 Golden Boot, won in a home competition, as a peak in his career, though he followed up his five goals in Germany with another four in South Africa 2010. That being said, Klose suffers in our rankings due to the fact that four of his five strikes came in the group stage and so did not impact Germany's run to the semi-finals as much as others have on our list.

Klose netted the 1-1 equaliser against Argentina that allowed Germany to win on penalties and take their spot opposite winners Italy in the semi, but it was insufficient in crafting a story of superstar standards. Tweet Goals: 6 No English forward has looked like claiming top-scorer certification at a World Cup since Gary Lineker, whose brightest hour came at Mexico 1986. Diego Maradona's Argentina had the last laugh over the Three Lions by knocking England out at the quarter-final stage before going on to clinch the 1986 title, as he and Lineker scored all three goals in a 2-1 win for the South Americans. But Lineker could take some solace in his exploits in front of goal despite the exit. His biggest achievement came in the form of a hat-trick en route to a 3-0 group-stage win against Poland, followed up by a brace against Paraguay in their 3-0 round-of-16 demolition. 15.

South Africa 2010: Thomas Mueller, Germany Matthias Schrader/Associated Press Goals: 5 Thomas Mueller was the first beneficiary of the tie-break rule in a World Cup Golden Boot race, winning ahead of David Villa, Wesley Sneijder and Diego Forlan thanks to a superior assist count (3). Each of those players finished with five goals apiece, and the fact that Muller was just 20 years of age at the time makes his award all the more incredible. And even at that age, the Bayern Munich product had the courage to push four of his five goals past the opposition after the group phase had come to a close. Mueller bagged two against England in their 4-1 round-of-16 defeat, added another in the 4-0 routing of Argentina in the quarter-final and netted his last, the opener, in the third-place playoff win over Uruguay. Tweet Goals: 5 Oldrich Nejedly is unique in our countdown in that his award as the clear top scorer of the 1934 World Cup was not made official until 2006, 72 years after the Czechoslovakian had netted the goals that took his team to the final.

Up until then, he was tied with Angelo Schiavio of Italy and Edmund Conen of German on four goals apiece, but a FIFA review awarded Nejedly a fifth that had previously been considered controversial, landing him the Golden Boot outright. The 1934 tournament adopted a far different format to the group style four years earlier, and it took Czechoslovakia just three games to reach the final against the hosting Azzurri. However, after grabbing a hat-trick in the semi-final against Germany, Nejedly was unable to make the difference at the final hurdle, finishing his campaign with five goals from four matches. Winners: Florian Albert (Hungary), Valentin Ivanov (Soviet Union), Garrincha (Brazil), Vava (Brazil), Drazan Jerkovic (Yugoslavia), Leonel Sanchez (Chile) Goals: 4 To this day, the 1962 World Cup is responsible for producing the lowest-scoring Golden Boot winner(s) in tournament history, but at least there were six of them to make up for the disappointment.

Of all those listed above, however, it's perhaps Brazilian legend Garrincha who will be most fondly remembered for his heroics that year. He was famously heralded for being born with crooked legs but nevertheless becoming one of the greatest talents his nation has ever produced. He and fellow joint-top scorer Vava can also claim precedence here due to the fact that their combined eight goals helped propel the Selecao to the World Cup itself. Each player scored two goals in the 4-2 semi-final win over Chile before Vava rounded off his contest with another in the 3-1 final triumph against Czechoslovakia. Tweet Goals: 8 Guillermo Stabile couldn't have hoped for his international career to start in brighter fashion than by being the top scorer at the very first World Cup in Uruguay, 1930. After missing Argentina's first Group 1 fixture through injury, the then-25-year-old marked a debut 6-3 win over Mexico with a hat-trick which, up until 2006, was considered the first World Cup hat-trick ever.

That record was changed in 2006, however, because Bert Patenaude of the United States had scored a hat-trick of his own against Paraguay two days earlier, but one of those finishes was up until then attributed to teammate Tom Florie. Nevertheless, Stabile's scoring would force Argentina through to a final against hosts Uruguay, which they ultimately lost 4-2, though the former Huracan forward once again got on the scoresheet. Scoring eight goals in four matches, Stabile averaged two goals per game and didn't fail to score in any of his outings. One might argue that Argentina always had a good chance of producing a high-scoring run in 1930 due to the tournament being in their native South America and their having made the 1928 Summer Olympics final two years prior, but Stabile's World Cup mark is nevertheless a thing of legend. Tweet Goals: 6 For the sixth tournament in succession, the World Cup's top scorer finished the competition with six goals to his name. This time it was Croatia's Davor Suker who excelled above the rest.

Having left Yugoslavia not too many years prior to the French tournament, 1998 was Croatia's first World Cup as its own team, and Suker's success helped the side take the tremendous achievement of third place. Argentina were the only group opponents against whom Suker was unable to find the net, but such a lapse was forgiven when he put a 1-0 winner past Romania in the round of 16 and slotted the third past Germany in the Croatians' 3-0 quarter-final romp. Eventual winners France knocked Croatia out in the semi-finals with a 2-1 result, but Suker scored again in that match. The Netherlands were the last side to feel his sting, surrendering a 35th-minute decider to the former Real Madrid, Sevilla and Arsenal man as they lost 2-1 in the third-place playoff. Tweet Goals: 7 Leonidas da Silva had a bounty of Hungarian stars on his tail for the Golden Boot in 1938, with Gyorgy Sarosi and Gyula Zsengeller each finishing on five goals apiece.

At the time, the Brazilian ended his tournament with eight goals, but a FIFA panel reduced that figure to seven upon a 2006 review, still enough to see him finish as top scorer. The tally might have risen further, too, were it not for Adhemar Pimenta's decision to rest his forward for the semi-final against Italy, which was where the Selecao's 1938 tournament ended. Four of Leonidas' "eight" came in the first-round 6-5 extra-time win over Poland, who were making their international debut at the time. It was the Brazilian's first here that was scratched from record, and stories tell that the official third goal was scored without Leonidas wearing his right boot, which is alleged to have torn in the buildup. Leonidas' omission from the semi-final wasn't a matter of his doing, however, and his goals scored up until that point nevertheless allowed Brazil to claim third place, with each and every one of his recorded scores proving important to their run. Tweet Goals: 8 As the top overall goalscorer in World Cup history, it's only right that Ronaldo should also have claimed a Golden Boot in his time as Brazil's leading man.

Eight of his 15 finishes came in the 2002 competition, where hosting duties were shared between Japan and South Korea, but the tally did stand at just seven until a successful lobby against an awarded own goal raised the number to eight. With his striking ability leading their attack, the Selecao were unstoppable en route to winning that year's highest honour, but Oliver Kahn was named player of the tournament, preventing Ronaldo from joining countryman Garrincha in claiming the elusive trophy trio. What's most admirable about Ronaldo's achievement in this side was that even though the scoring very much relied upon a pack mentality—Rivaldo finished with just three goals fewer—"Fenomeno" still managed to claim his place as the centrepiece among scoring giants. Germany fell victim to the Selecao superstar in the final, as Ronaldo scored twice to lead his side to a 2-0 result, bettering the 1-0 winner he had scored against Turkey in the semi-finals. Tweet Goals: 10 Germany's former all-time leading top scorer, Gerd Mueller, recently saw his national team record broken by Miroslav Klose, who scored the 69th goal of his international career last week against Armenia.

However, that isn't to put down the stellar achievements of the ex-West Germany marvel, whose 10-goal haul at the 1970 World Cup was unfortunate not to take the European giants all the way to that year's title. Mueller's prolific habits were evident irrespective of occasion during his national team career, and it's unfortunate that his added-time brace against Italy in the semi-finals wasn't enough to produce something better than a 4-3 defeat. Mueller's influence here was especially impactful when one considers he netted the second against Morocco to finish off a 2-1 comeback before then grabbing a hat-trick in the 3-1 victory over Peru, displaying his knack for helping the team out in clutch scenarios. Tweet Goals: 13 No player has ever scored more goals in a single World Cup tournament than France's Just Fontaine, whose 1958 tally of 13 still stands as the highest recorded to this day. But alas, even such a magnificent tally was once again not enough to give Les Bleus their title, and France had to settle for third place despite Fontaine's efforts.

Finishing seven goals clear of his nearest scoring contenders Pele and Helmut Rahn, the French forward scored in all six of the games in which he featured, including four against the West Germans during France's 6-3 win in the third-place playoff. France's progress from the group stage was stunted by a loss to Yugoslavia, and they were eventually undone by Brazil in the quarter-finals, showing that as a team this outfit was far from perfect. However, Fontaine maintained his standards from start to finish, keeping up his end of the bargain even if his teammates were unable to do the same. Tweet Goals: 7 The only Pole ever to claim a World Cup Golden Boot award, Grzegorz Lato holds a special place in his national team's history, despite only being able to bring them a bronze medal in 1974. And it was in '74 that the Malbork-born attacker reached heights which he never would again in his international career, scoring seven goals in seven games at that summer's World Cup. The crowning achievement of this tournament will of course be Lato's 76th-minute winner in the third-place playoff against Brazil, where Poland triumphed 1-0.

However, Lato also rose to score the decisive winner in Poland's 2-1 defeat of Yugoslavia at the second group stage, not to mention bagging two against Argentina in a first-round 3-2 victory. Tweet Goals: 11 With Hungary at the height of their powers in 1954, the Golden Team were hot favourites to take home the title from Switzerland. In the end, a runners-up finish was all that a Ferenc Puskas-led team could muster, but Sandor Kocsis could at least take some silverware of his own with the Golden Boot award. It was also in this tournament that Kocsis became the first player ever to score two hat-tricks in a World Cup, three goals in a 9-0 win over South Korea and another four in the 8-3 triumph over West Germany, both in the group stage. It was after the first round that Kocsis' importance really came to the fore, however, and with Puskas missing for the quarter-finals and semi-finals with an ankle fracture, his teammate continued to fill Hungary's scoring quota.

Kocsis would notch his side's second and last goals in the 4-2 win over Brazil before then scoring twice in added time to give Hungary a crucial 4-2 win over holders Uruguay, booking the Mighty Magyars their place opposite West Germany in the final. Kocsis couldn't recreate the same heroics as he had in the group stage, as Hungary lost 3-2, but the attacker's share of success both in a team and individual capacity was tremendous. Tweet Goals: 9 Eusebio's name is the stuff of legend not just in his native Portugal but in football folklore, and it was at the 1966 World Cup that he recorded his most memorable international output. It was in England where "The Black Panther" helped his nation to a third-place finish, scoring nine goals in the tournament after winning the Ballon d'Or in 1965. Four of those finishes came in a fixture against North Korea, but the Benfica figure's finishing quality was ever-present in the competition as Portugal took down Hungary, Brazil and Bulgaria before being ousted by eventual champions England. Eusebio netted 12 goals in 12 international appearances during '66.

He was very much at the height of his powers, and the World Cup tournament of that year sits as a crowning achievement in the now-departed icon's illustrious career. Tweet Goals: 6 In 1978, Argentina's Mario Kempes became the first player to ever win the Golden Boot award outright—shared with no one else—as part of a side that also clinched the tournament crown. The thing that's so remarkable about Kempes' tale of that year is that while his tally of six is far from the highest ever seen in the competition, he scored at crucial times when his nation needed him most. It took "El Matador" four games to find the back of the net, scoring a brace in the 2-0 win over Peru during the second group stage. But once he had a taste of scoring, the striker couldn't stop. Following a 0-0 draw again Brazil, Kempes would then bag another two in a 6-0 win over Peru, but his most vital contribution came in the shape of yet another brace, this time in the final against the Netherlands.

Kempes put the opener past Ubaldo Fillol, and after things went to extra time at 1-1, he would net again to give Argentina a 2-1 lead; they would eventually earn the title by a 3-1 scoreline. Tweet Goals: 6 Just as Mario Kempes did four years earlier, Paolo Rossi claimed both the World Cup title and its outright Golden Boot award in 1982. And Rossi's importance in this Azzurri unit was validated at the final, where he opened the scoring on the 57th minute of his side's 3-1 win over West Germany in Madrid. Rossi is also the most recent player to have won not only the tournament but both the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards—given to the player of the tournament—becoming just the third player ever to do so after Kempes and Garrincha (although Garrincha tied with several others as top scorer in 1962).

Rossi's scoring exploits didn't spark into life until the latter stages of the 1982 World Cup, but if his goal in the final didn't prove his mettle, then a hat-trick in the 3-2 win over Brazil and brace in the 2-0 semi-final victory against Poland certainly did. Tweet Goals: 6 Salvatore Schillaci's tale in 1990 is the kinds of rags-to-riches story every player dreams of coming into a World Cup. Before the 1990 competition "Toto" had made just one international appearance, but he soon became a staple in the Italy side, eventually finishing with a Golden Boot-worthy six goals. The former Messina, Juventus and Inter striker came on as a substitute to net the 78th-minute winner in Italy's 1-0 opening win over Austria, and his impact against Czechoslovakia later in Group A was similar, netting the first goal inside nine minutes.

This trend would continue in the next phases of the tournament, and while the hosting Azzurri didn't score masses of goals, Schillaci also opened the scoring in the 2-0 round-of-16 win over Uruguay and provided the sole finish in Italy's quarter-final triumph against the Republic of Ireland. Initiative at his side, Schillaci scored first against Argentina, but the home team would eventually lose their first and only match of the World Cup on penalties. However, third-place was secured thanks to the forward's 86th-minute penalty winner versus England, as Italy prevailed 2-1. A small consolation for the Azzurri, but a remarkable individual accomplishment for Schillaci. World Cup Golden Boot and Golden Ball: The history of the awards | Daily Mail Online comments While the World Cup is the top prize for every player this summer, there are two individual awards the top stars will be gunning for in Brazil, too. The Golden Ball, for the competition’s best player and the Golden Boot for its top scorer, give an extra opportunity of glory for losing players and a chance for winners to top off a successful tournament.

The Ball has been won by the champions’ best player nine times, with the Boot claimed by a World Cup winner on just four occasions in its 84-year history. Legend: Pele won the World Cup golden ball in 1970 after his legendary Brazil side won in Mexico Golden touch: Gary Lineker (left), in 1986 and Brazilian legend Ronaldo in 2002 proudly hold the golden boot And just like the main prize, neither has been won outright by a European in a South American World Cup. Brazil lead the way on both awards, claiming six Balls and five Boots. And 2014’s poster boy Neymar is second-favourite to pick up either at the end of the tournament, behind Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi. RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share Last time out Thomas Muller claimed the Golden Boot – with his three assists pushing him ahead of five-goal rivals David Villa, Wesley Sneijder and Diego Forlan. That was the first time the award was decided in this way, and it was even shared at Chile 62 and USA 94. Superstar: Will this be the year Lionel Messi (right) finally makes a World Cup his own for Argentina?

A nation awaits: Can Neymar live up to the hype and deliver the World Cup for Brazil on home soil Despite his Golden Boot disappointment Forlan did pick up the Golden Shoe in 2010 for his role as captain in guiding surprise package Uruguay to the semi-finals. Muller is 28/1 with Coral to reclaim his title, with Forlan is 80/1 for his. 2006 Golden Boot winner Miroslav Klose is 40/1 to finish as top scorer again. Bobby Charlton is England’s only Golden Ball winner – and at 50/1 Coral seem to think Wayne Rooney is unlikely to match the Manchester United and England legend’s achievement. And Rooney is 40/1 to emulate Gary Lineker, whose six goals won him the Golden Boot at Mexico 86. GOLDEN BALL WINNERS World Cup Golden Boot Winners - Historical World Cup Top Scorers Argentina 5 One of the most active markets for any World Cup is the Golden Boot with a number of players vying for an award which is presented to the highest goal scorer in the tournament.

Over the years, there have been some incredible goal scoring feats at World Cup finals but who are the individuals that have made their mark in previous tournaments and what indicators can they give those of us who are making predictions for 2014? The Record Breaker France’s Just Fontaine holds the record for the most goals in a single World Cup tournament and it’s one that may never be broken. In current World Cup competitions, the most successful teams could play as many as seven games but could any of the current players match the 13 strikes that Fontaine achieved in Sweden in 1958? The striker was prolific in club football and averaged nearly a goal a game during his eight years with Stade Reims. His ratio at international level was even better and his performances at the 1958 finals would leave Fontaine with a record of 30 goals from 23 appearances. It’s claimed that he was playing in a pair of borrowed boots when he began his campaign with a hat trick in a 7-3 defeat of Uruguay. The Frenchman followed that achievement with a brace against Yugoslavia and a single, winning goal against the Scots which allowed his country to progress to the next phase.

Three goals followed over two matches against Northern Ireland and Brazil before Fontaine netted no less than four times in the third place play off against West Germany. Behind this incredible achievement, Sandor Kocsis managed eleven strikes in the finals of 1954 but since Gerd Muller’s 10 in 1970, no player has managed more than eight in a single tournament. The Prolific Nations Aside from Just Fontaine’s magnificent 13 back in 1958, no Frenchman has taken the Golden Boot award. In fact, after the Stade Reims centre forward, there is a considerable gap in the country’s all time list. The finals in Sweden were the only time that Fontaine appeared in a tournament so he finished seven clear of Thierry Henry who scored six goals – three in 1998 and three in 2002. Other countries have been more prolific over a longer span and they tend to be the more successful nations in terms of World Cup victories. Brazil are well represented when it comes to the tournament’s leading goal scorers and out of eighteen finals, five Brazilians have either shared the Golden Boot or won it outright.

The most successful of these was Ronaldo who currently holds the overall record for goals scored at the World Cup finals. The former Real Madrid target man has 15 strikes, spread over three tournaments, including a top scoring effort of eight as his country lifted the trophy in 2002. Behind Ronaldo, the legendary Pele has 12 goals in four tournaments although the man who many believe was the greatest to ever play the game, never actually won a Golden Boot. Germany also feature heavily in the list of all time leading scorers and Miroslav Klose has a chance of eclipsing Ronaldo’s record at the 2014 tournament. Along with the great Gerd Muller , the Lazio centre forward has 14 goals in World Cup finals and is set to be Germany’s first choice front man in Brazil. In total, German or West German players have finished as top scorer in three tournaments. Gerd Muller recorded an impressive ten goals in 1970 before Klose took an outright win in 2006. Thomas Muller completes the trio although the Bayern Munich man shared the award in 2010 with David Villa and Wesley Sneijder.

An unlikely hero After West Germany’s Gerd Muller took the prestigious Golden Boot in 1970, he joined up with the national squad as they looked to win the World Cup on home soil four years later. The host nation duly completed a win after edging past the Netherlands by two goals to one in the final and while the man they called ‘Der Bomber’ scored four times, the top scorer accolade finished in the hands of an unlikely recipient. Poland’s Grzegorz Lato featured in three FIFA World Cup finals and as a winger, his achievement of scoring ten goals across those tournaments is an extremely impressive one. The Poles had qualified for the 1974 event from a tough qualifying group and in doing so, they made sure that a highly fancied English team stayed at home. Lato had become an important member of the side during that qualifying phase but his seven goals in the finals helped his country to an unexpected third place. Poland were drawn against Argentina in their opening match and it was a tough encounter against a country who would develop and go on to win the World Cup four years’ later.

The South American side were shocked however as Stal Mielec’s Lato opened the scoring after seven minutes and sixty seconds later, striker Andrzej Szarmach made it two. Lato scored again to seal a 3-2 victory and four days later, he secured another brace in a 7-0 rout of Haiti. Szmarmach, a recognised centre forward, scored a hat trick in that game and went ahead of Lato with a fifth strike in a 2-1 win over Italy. The impressive Poles continued their fine run and by the end of the tournament, Grzegorz Lato had taken the Golden Boot with the winner in a surprise 1-0 victory in the third placed match with Brazil. The winger would return to the World Cup in 1978 and 1982 and despite only adding three more goals to his tally, Lato’s overall total of 10 in all tournaments is a Polish record. Other notable achievements Although Poland didn’t win the World Cup in 1974, the eventual Golden Boot winner played in every possible game – seven in total and usually the winner of the individual top scorer trophy makes it all the way to the final with his country.

There are notable exceptions however and in 1986, England’s Gary Lineker took the award despite Bobby Robson’s side being knocked out in the quarter final stage against Argentina. Before the tournament had even begun, there were fears that Lineker would miss the finals completely after he broke his wrist in a meaningless friendly against Canada. The Everton striker eventually took to the field in a protective cast but he failed to score and had little impact as England took just one point from their opening fixtures against Portugal and Morocco. Robson’s men were left needing to win their final group game against Poland and a first half hat trick from the former Leicester City forward was enough to seal the points with a 3-0 scoreline. England looked a different side and Lineker scored two more in a 3-1 defeat of Paraguay in the first knockout stage. His final goal came in the 2-1, quarter final loss against the Argentines and while Gary Lineker’s winning tally of six was a relatively modest one, he finished one clear of Diego Maradona, Spain’s Emilio Butragueno and the Brazilian Careca.

Golden Boot World Cup Winners As Gary Lineker’s achievement shows, you don’t have to be part of a World Cup winning team to take the Golden Boot but ultimately, the teams that do triumph tend to have at least one prolific scorer in their ranks. David Villa shared the award in 2010 and his five goals helped Spain to take the trophy in South Africa. The centre forward scored at important times too and his brace against Honduras helped his side get their campaign back on track after a shock opening defeat against Switzerland. Prior to Villa’s success, Ronaldo scored eight and finished as leading scorer as his Brazilian side won the World Cup. Before that, however, Paolo Rossi was the last man to take the Golden Boot and a tournament winner’s medal back in 1982. Four years previously, Argentina’s Mario Kempes had also recorded a double triumph but overall, tournament top scorers who finish on the winning side are the exception rather than the rule. World Cup Top Goal Scorers Home > Events > Football > Football World Cup > History > Awards > Top Scorers World Cup Top Goal Scorers (Golden Boot) These are the 'golden shoe' or 'golden boot' winners from each World Cup event.

The record for the most goals at a single World Cup is 13 by Frenchman Just Fontaine in 1958, which he achieved in six games. The overall top goal scorer in the Wolrd Cup is German player Miroslav Klose, who has scored 16 goals overall. See the list of World Cup Top Goal Scorers . The current rules for a tie-breaker, is that if there is a tie for the most number of goals in the tournament, the award goes to the player who has given the most assists (as decided by the FIFA Technical Study Group). If there is still more than one player, the tie-breaker goes to the player who has played the least amount of time. Goals scored from penalty shoot-outs are not counted There is more Goal Scoring Trivia . Are you looking for the top goal scorers from Brazil 2014 ? Year

Question: Which German footballer won the Golden Boot award for scoring the most goals at the finals of the 2006 Football World Cup?
Answer: MIROSLAV KLOSE